“I’ve been trying not to dream / trying just to sleep (enough)”
“It’s like a dream / but I can’t go back to sleep” — Rob Lanterman
Words by Jason Lee
Photo by Darian Reneé
It’s a well established fact that the human mind can only handle a fairly modest number of tasks or data points at any one given time which is crazy when you think how the brain has a storage capacity of around 2.5 million gigabytes supposedly yet can only retain an average of 6 or 7 pieces of basic information in short-term memory at a time (1 or 2 if you’ve been hitting the bong at best) which is why online confirmation codes and phone numbers are the length they are…
…and also it’s crazy how there’s 100 or even 1000 songs on the themes of memory and and memory-related subjects like fixation, obsession, and infatuation—romantic or otherwise—-versus that one “black swan” song per hundred or thousand that’s about forgetting things or better yet failing to remember to forget about life or forget about Dre because it just comes that naturally which even eminent psychiatrists from Ivy League schools acknowledge as a good thing overall where the “ability to forget helps us prioritize, think better, make decisions, and be more creative…in balance with memory giv[ing] us the mental flexibility to grasp abstract concepts from a morass of stored information, allowing us to see the forest through the trees”…
…which is why you should give Rob Lanterman’s latest single “Can’t Think About It Now” a listen and then forget it promptly which’ll make every time you listen to it again feel like the first time, a song’s whose narrator unabashedly admits “I don’t know where to go […] I don’t know where to turn / we’re not gonna sort it out / I can’t think about it now” over a propulsive, even downright jaunty rock ‘n’ roll riddim that’ll maybe make you wanna start a highly nurturing mospit which to this listener at least evokes a strong Midwestern-style punk/garage/powerpop ethos which is fitting seeing as how the Midwest itself is far too often forgotten about…
…music that when paired with Rob L’s unfussily emotive vocals brings to mind—if you’ve got the long-term memory left to remember that is—the likes of onetime Hüsker Dü frontman Bob Mould whose heart-baring ‘90s side-project Sugar is also relevant here, or Dillanger Four minus the snark, or Edna’s Goldfish minus the horns (parts of Long Island are about as close to a Midwestern vibe as yr gonna find ‘round these parts) or other self-referenced FFO bands like The Hotelier (“Our Lives Would Make A Sad, Boring Movie”), Motion City Soundtrack (“The Future Freaks Me Out”), and Relient K (“Who I Am Hates Who I’ve Been”)…
…so we’re talkin’ “post-hardcore with a side of emo” basically but hey let’s not get hung up on comparisons or overly reductive labels shall we cuz at the end of the day we all sound mostly like ourselves, if we can even remember that weirdo, tho’ it bears noting R. Lanterman has more than earned his Midwestern punk rock bonafides not due to his own music per se but rather as founder and label head of Hidden Home Records which is an independent punk rock label based in Boise, Idaho which is where Rob is from too (not) coincidentally so no wonder our man’s feeling a little spread thin and doesn’t always have the bandwidth to “think about it now” cuz running a label takes a helluva lot of time or as he put it in the official announcement for his EP Knock On Wood set for release on February 9th:
Label owner/third-person bio writer Rob Lanterman is here with his new EP he’s been sitting on for 6 EFFIN’ YEARS because he’s been too busy putting out other people’s records! Recorded in 2018 with Charlie Ritch (Ingrown, Rejection Pact, Stepbrothers), the release is a whopping 7 songs of full-band goodness featuring guest vocals from everyone and their respective dogs. The release is being sold as a Zine/Booklet with individual art done for each song by Katelyn Lanterman (the artist’s sister) and liner notes about the writing of the songs/making of the album as well as the lyrics. All songs recorded and performed by Rob Lanterman & Charlie. Guest backing vocals by Russ Worstell from Shrug Dealer.
…which pretty much says it all (merely implied: Rob also plays with the blisteringly technical nü skate punk combo Shrug Dealer, winners of the Deli’s 2018 annual Best Punning Band Name award, not to mention guitaring for the inestimable Onesie like we said he’s a busy guy) and for those who wanna be on the inside track there’s another currently available advance-single drop off from Knock On Wood namely “It’s Like You’re Dead” which you’d think may make said not-actually dead person easy to forget (or not?) starting off with some acoustic-y guitar strummage (as heard on the duration of Rob’s solo LP Gingerkicker) but then within seconds like a mental flash of insight from beyond…
…”Dead” bursts forth from its acoustic bonds with a fusillade of snarling electric guitar and bass guitar pulled along by a galloping drum line (diggin’ those rat-a-tat-tat mini-rolls, daddy-o) all played by Charlie or Rob with the latter addressing subjects like like not getting enough sleep or fielding constant phone calls about your day or the temptation to “live in the bliss of these past seven years of my memory”…
…so by all means don’t forget to order Rob’s groovy new EP cuz judging by these two tracks alone it’s gonna be a rager but one that channels its rage constructively with songs about knowing when to remember and when to forget (not to mention knowing when to hold ’em and knowing when to fold em) among other subjects but hey that’s just our take…
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Knock on Wood
releases February 9, 2024
All songs by Rob Lanterman.
All instruments by Rob Lanterman and Charlie Ritch.
Additional musicians:
Charlie Ritch – backing vocals on “It’s Like You’re Dead.”
Vaughn Sutterman and Randy Moore – backing vocals on “Too Personal.”
Kasey Porter – backing vocals on “Don’t Shoot.”
Darian Renée – backing vocals on “Can’t Think About It Now.”
Casey Keele – backing vocals on “Umtitled.”
Ash Basset & Russ Wood – backing vocals on “Mutil8 Me.”
Additional backing vocals by Russ Worstell.
All other artists appear courtesy of my friendship with them.
Produced by Charlie Ritch.
Mixed by Charlie Ritch at Shadow Moses Studios and Bill Henderson at Azimuth Mastering.
Mastered by Bill Henderson at Azimuth Mastering.
Artwork by Katey Lanterman. Layout/Art Direction by Rob Lanterman.